Turn Off My Phone For Dinner: Seriously

Turn Off Your Phone At Dinner -and other thoughts on being fully present in a distracted age.

David Hood, a journalism student at Hope International University, sleeps with his iPhone 4S under his pillow. As a journalist, he must remain easily accessible, but he struggles with how dependent he is on technology. He recalls the day his cell phone died while he was walking around Washington, D.C. Anxious about being out of contact, Hood charged the phone in his pocket from the MacBook Pro he had stashed in his backpack.

“I just never know when my editor is going to call me or send me an email,” he says. “I might get an email from somebody, breaking news, and I have to take it.”

When it comes to how dependent young adults are on technology, Hood is not alone. His is just one story that tells of its addictive power, but is its constant presence eroding our ability to be fully present?

According to “Americans and Their Cell Phones,” a September 2011 survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 83 percent of American adults own a cell phone and 35 percent of those own smartphones.

But for those who still prefer basic technologies, it’s easy to get left behind.